CAT OF THE WEEK: LIBBY

Welcome to Cat of the Week! This week we have Liberty, AKA Libby, who lives with her humans, Ronni and David, and dog-sibling, Powder, in Philly. Libby's mama is a superb artist who fossilizes flowers and plants in materials like cement. They are gorgeous - check out her website and Instagram.

Libby, a now wonderful, snuggly cat, was a proper nightmare when she was first adopted. Here's her story, as told by Ronni:

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"I can easily say that Liberty is the boss in this household. She established her alpha role almost immediately from the first day we received her. We were scared shitless around her as a kitten because she was an absolutely terror- night terror to be exact, so none of us challenged her alpha status. 

"David and I were not cat people but we are too nice to say no. On our move in day, our neighbor, Karen, asked David if we wanted a kitten. He said he would have to ask the misses (me), hoping/figuring that I would say no since I am allergic to cats.  I didn't have the guts to turn down a nice old lady giving away a kitten either, so I was like sure.  So here we are, on the same day we moved in trying to figure out how to get out of the lease so we wouldn't have to take in the cat.

"Our relationship with Libby had some rough beginnings. Our first night and every night after that for about six months with her was a complete horror show.  She was quite a little trouble maker as a kitten and we had no idea what to do.  All I know is that we all (David, Powder, and I) were scared shitless of her. We all dreaded the nightly stroke of 12am when it was time to go to bed, because we knew one of us would be on her list. You may laugh, but I have 4 stitches on my upper lip from her. She was a night face attacker. In the middle of night, you would wake up in panic with her wrapped around your face with her daggers carving into the back of your skull like a lunatic.

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"For the entire first 6 months, there wasn't a night that went by that one of us wasn't scared.  Our poor dog whom was an innocent puppy at the time, was often even "sexually assaulted" by her. Libby tried to nurse my pup's barely-there nipples so many times, that even to this day, Powder will not let her near that vicinity. Liberty still tries to snuggle with Powder, but she burnt that bridge beyond repair.

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"I won't lie and say that we didn't think about giving her away at first, but I'm so happy we didn't. Her terror phase phased out eventually. Now she is the most gentle cat you will ever encounter.  We love her with all our heart and can't see our lives without her.  She is so smart and confident and we love that about her. When we are sad, she comforts. When we are happy she plays with us. She is an excellent hugger now,  and I realized that her face attacks were her way of giving us hugs. She was just too young to understand that those weapons on her paws were deadly.  She is very affectionate, but needed time to adjust her tactics. I will say with complete confidence, she is still the alpha in this home, and I and no one else would dare challenge her on that.  Libby has trained us all well."

Yup, Lincoln and Libby have daily sit down meetings. 

Yup, Lincoln and Libby have daily sit down meetings. 

Thanks for stopping by, Libby! And remember, if you want your furry BFF to be our Cat of the Week, send us an email with their story and some favorite pictures to hello@gateaugato.com. We're constantly taking submissions!